Attorney Tried Cases After TB Diagnosis

The attorney quarantined for tuberculosis tried cases for five months after his initial diagnosis.

Andrew Speaker, a personal injury lawyer, says didn’t know he had a particularly virulent form of TB until he arrived in Europe last month for his wedding. After his first diagnosis in January, he tried cases in courtrooms across the Atlanta metro area, according to a WSB-TV summary of his interview with ABC’s Diane Sawyer.

Experts say Speaker could be sued if others contract the disease from him.

A biography posted on the Web site of Speaker’s law firm said he received his law degree from the University of Georgia. After working as a prosecutor, he went into private practice concentrating in personal injury and family law cases.

He worked with his father, Ted Speaker, who was an unsuccessful candidate for a judgeship in 2004, according to Associated Press.

Speaker’s new wife, Sarah, is a third-year law student at Emory University in Atlanta.